Worldview is a term you should be very familiar with, especially as you spend time on this website and read Rare Jewel Magazine.  At first blush, the term may throw you for a loop, but really it's a simple concept to grasp.  Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson says, "...a person's worldview is intensely practical.  It is simply the sum total of our beliefs about the world, the 'big picture' that directs our daily decisions and actions." [1]  

Your worldview is how you view the world, how you view life.  Rick Warren (author of bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life) writes, "The way you see your life shapes your life."  Warren asks us to think about how we see our life.  "I've been told life is a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a symphony, a journey, and a dance.  [This is] your description of how life works and what you expect from it."  Warren points out that our view of life influences us more than we realize, "It determines your expectations, your values, your relationships, your goals, and your priorities." [2]   Our choices are shaped by what we believe is real and true, right and wrong, good and beautiful.  Our choices are shaped by our worldview. [3]

Your worldview (often referred to as your life view) is derived from your answers to life's most important questions: Where did mankind come from? Why are we here?  Do we matter?  Do I matter?  Does life have any purpose?  What happens when we die?  Follow the logical progression: answer how you came to be and that will help you determine why you are here, what is your purpose.  Your purpose impacts how you view life, your decisions, your opinions, your values, your morals, and how you feel about life.  How you feel, what you believe, will determine how you interact with the world around you, your actions.  Your worldview drives your perspective about the important issues of our day (e.g., abortion, traditional marriage, war on terrorism, politics, our public school system, welfare, and immigration), and how and to what degree you'll respond.

Now that you know what a worldview is, I hope you will think about your own worldview.  What is your set of beliefs that influences your opinions and actions regarding the details of life and the world in which you live? 

For further reading, click here: <Part II: Finding My Worldview>

[Tim Ewing is the founder and publisher of Rare Jewel Magazine, a publication inspired by Proverbs 20:15, "Lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."  Tim lives in Power, MT with his wife and four children and is a direct descendant of Governor William Bradford and five other Mayflower pilgrims.  Tim can be reached at tim@rarejewelmag.com.]